IDC Launches West Africa CIO Summit

IDC Launches West Africa CIO SummitCelebrating its 50th year of delivering in global IT advisory services, IDC today launched its inaugural West Africa CIO Summit, held under the patronage of Mr. Adebiyi Mabadeje, Honorable Commissioner for the Ministry of Science and Technology, Lagos State.

His Excellency inaugurated the event at the Eko Hotel in Lagos by delivering the Summit’s keynote address to the senior technology decision makers in attendance. This gathering represented the largest social network of CIOs, IT thought leaders, and vendors in West Africa, with industry experts on hand to explore the pivotal role of the CIO in the new business world of technology transformation.

“The last five years have seen the emergence of a new era in computing,” says Jyoti Lalchandani, IDC’s group vice president and regional managing director for the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey. “We call this new era the 3rd Platform. Harnessing the power of key technology pillars such as Big Data, mobile, cloud, and social media, this unstoppable force is driving an evolution in the role of the CIO, transforming entire industries, and empowering customers in new ways.”

The day’s proceedings got underway with an assessment of the ways in which this new era of transformation will impact the West Africa IT landscape over the coming years. This was followed by an eclectic mix of insightful presentations and informative panel discussions on everything from Big Data analytics and datacenter strategies to CIO best practices and ICT predictions for West Africa.

“Our extensive research shows the region’s technology leaders are primarily concerned with driving innovation through IT, managing growing expectations from users, and measuring the ROI of their IT initiatives,” says Bola Adisa, country manager, IDC West Africa. “The coming years will be a fascinating period for the development of West Africa’s IT and communications markets. While some organizations are still building their infrastructures, others are surging forward, implanting cutting-edge technologies that disrupt traditional business and work models while creating opportunities in lines of business and in the optimization of workflow.

“The proliferation of 3rd Platform technologies is not only changing the solutions that CIOs need to implement, but also fundamentally affecting the role of IT in the organization, the tasks and responsibilities of the IT department, and the skill sets required by CIOs and their IT staff.”

The delegates in attendance represented a variety of industry sectors, including banking and financial services, government, oil and gas, construction and real estate, utilities, and healthcare. Senior IDC analysts from across the globe were available for private one-to-one meetings throughout the course of the Summit, offering strategic advice on the most pressing business and technology concerns facing the region’s CIOs today. The event came to an end with a lavish gala dinner and evening of entertainment laid on for the CIOs and technology partners.

Middle East CIO Summit 2014, IDC partnered with some of the world’s foremost ICT vendors, including: Microsoft and EMC (in partnership with Resourcery) as Summit Partners; HP, Huawei, and MTN Business as Platinum Partners; Oracle, FireEye, APC by Schneider Electric, CommVault, and SAS as Gold Partners; MainOne, Global Knowledge, and Check Point Software Technologies as Silver Partners; and IT Edge Magazine as the event’s official Media Partner.